Over the holidays, the children of Shovgenovskiy orphanage were invited to the Music Theater Nalmes’ New Year performance of Thumbelina. All 30 children were treated as special guests which included the musical’s characters greeting them while in costume.

They also enjoyed dances, games, jokes, and songs as a pre-show and the musical itself took everyone’s breath away. The children found great joy in each moment but they were even more surprised to learn there was more: gifts for each child from the INKOM Auto organization. They were definitely in a festive mood after!

One of Allies’ volunteers on this night, Nastya, is a 29-year-old wife and mother of two who also spent a few years in an orphanage as a child. Nastya had a difficult childhood, caring for her three younger sisters and one brother while their parents drank and fought each other. Sometimes they had no place to sleep, often they had no food and Nastya would have to find a way to feed herself and her siblings.

Eventually, Nastya and her siblings were taken to an orphanage. After some time there, when Nastya was 15 years old, the Ivanenko family took her family in. She began to see how the right values, making good choices, and setting goals for the future could change the course of her life.

Without the help of an orphanage and the eventual guidance of her foster family, the Ivanenkos, Nastya might not be living her happily married life and her path in life could have been very different.

Nastya now helps these children who, like her and her siblings, are facing difficulties which would be insurmountable on their own.

It is our hope that our work doesn’t just change the destiny of children who are faced with heavy burdens, but that we also help create a legacy of changing lives just as Nastya is doing with Allies.

Thank you for partnering with us to achieve nights like this and for uplifting the lives of these children and others around the world.

To know more about how you can be part of Allies’ work, please visit this page.